Supper last night was a bit of a treat, grilled steak. The steak was probably the worst steak we've had in our lives, chewy, fatty, and full of bones (it may have been beef ribs actually) but after endless nights of the same thing, it was a welcome change.
We are becoming convinced that somewhere in Spain you can buy a book entitled "Menus for Perigrinos". The peregrino specials are virtually the same everywhere, with minor variations in preparation, which can add a dimension of excitement, or disappointment. We have to say that between the primo, secoundo, and dessert, you can get a very economical, nutruitional, and filling basic meal. It's salty and most food is swimming in (olive we hope) oil but with all this walking you lose a lot of salt sweating so we must need that, and isn't olive oil good for you?
The other nice thing is that you pretty much know what you are going to get (in spite of the Spanish). It's just that after 30 plus days and counting, the food gets to be very boring. For example, last night Russ had the local specialty soup, for a first course, which turned out to be cabbage, potatoes, salt and water. No broth of any kind, just water.
We could order off a menu for a change, but the wine alone would likely cost more than the entire meal. So we stick to the peregrino special, and are very grateful for it.
After a wonderful afternoon sitting out on the patio with all our belongings baking in the hot sun, having all our laundry washed and dried, a wonderful meal, and countless sleepless nights: Lynn decided not to perform any mattress checks. We both had a very sound sleep, with no evidence of little friends this morning.
Todays walk was very pleasant. It started off in a heavy fog but it quickly became apparent that we were going to get our shirts soaked from the exertion so took our fleeces off. This left us in a much more enjoyable state for walking.
It was basically a series of ups and downs through very small villages that were still asleep, perhaps permanently. The guide said there was a 300 meter rise, but that had to be the difference in the highest elevation versus the lowest and didn't account for the endless ups and downs. Lynn kept thinking, 'I thought we already climbed the mountain?' A few farmers were out with their John Deeres, and cows in the field were watching the crazy people go by.
It was interesting to enter a very small village and find that the only pilgrim facility is a Coke machine sitting incongruously beside the trail.
Now that we are in Galicia, which is the first place that the wind off the ocean hits, it is humid and foggy. It was very foggy and damp when we set off but the sun did come out later and there was some very nice scenery, once we could see it. What we particularly enjoyed were the parts of the trail with overhanging branches forming an arch. You almost expected a hobbit to step out in front of you.
We got into Sarria about noon time. Sarria is a fair sized town but from the information provided by the hotel clerk when we checked in, the stores close at 2pm for the day today, and are closed all day Saturday. It must be some kind of holiday. Even in Spain they usually work a bit more than that! We wanted to have a rest day here but couldn't get a hotel, so we have a rest day in Sunday in Portomarin, where we go tomorrow. If everything is closed, it's just as well our rest day isn't here.
We are starting to see a lot more people on the trail. In order to get your compostela in Santiago you have to walk the last 100km, so a lot of people start their walk here. You wonder why a piece of paper could be that important.
Our hotel is right across from the train station and a ton of fresh new pilgrims have just arrived.
Summary - another nice walk on good trails. We can hardly belive we only have 5 more of our 35 days of walking left. It's quite a journey.
Distance today - 18.7km
Distance total - 678.7km
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